Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Human and Social Dynamics (HSD) (NSF 05-520)

Eligibility Requirements


Question: How many proposals can an investigator submit this year to the HSD solicitation (NSF 05-520)?

Answer: No person may be a PI, Co-PI, or senior personnel on more than one proposal submitted to this solicitation (NSF-05-520). (NSF defines senior personnel as the principal and co-principal investigators responsible for the scientific or technical direction of the project and other faculty members involved in the project.) This restriction applies to all individuals on subawards who fall into the category of senior personnel.

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In submitting to HSD, does the university department of the PI matter?

Answer: No. The department within a university or non-profit research organization does not matter. The subject of the research does matter; the HSD competition stresses multidisciplinarity so HSD proposals from many different university or organizational departments are anticipated.

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Question: Can international institutions apply to HSD?

Answer: The HSD Program encourages international collaborations. HSD understands that topics of interest will cross national boundaries and that U.S. investigators will and already do communicate and collaborate with colleagues throughout the world to accomplish their research and educational goals. The typical expectation is that all investigators on a project team will receive funding from their own countries’ funding agencies, especially if the international collaboration is with researchers in developed countries (e.g., Europe, Britain, Japan) that have substantial resources of their own. However, the eligibility rules for submission to HSD do allow for international institutions to apply indirectly to the HSD Program — either as consultants on a lead proposal or as subawards. In both cases, justification is required of the unique capabilities offered or the specific research needs that will be accomplished. No indirect costs by international institutions are allowed. In addition, it is expected that the international budget will be small, relative to the overall size of the project budget.

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Question: Are government labs or for-profit organizations allowed to submit HSD proposals?

Answer: Only US universities and colleges, and nonprofit organizations in the US, may submit proposals to this competition.

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Question: Are graduate students or unaffiliated researchers eligible to apply to HSD?

Answer:. Graduate students and unaffiliated researchers may be included on HSD proposals. Graduate students should not be included as PI, Co-PI, or senior personnel. Unaffiliated researchers need to go through an eligible institution to be involved in this HSD competition. (See the answer to the previous question.)

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Question: My question is not in this list and is not answered in the solicitation. What should I do?

Answer: Send email to hsd@nsf.gov.

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